Well, it is getting to be that time of year, and our family leaves this Fri for our long awaited vacation. We are flying into Barcelona and then taking a Med cruise. In addition to Spain, we will be hitting Italy and France.

Obviously, staying on plan will be difficult, and I have decided that I'm not going to stress over it. I will eat lc/hf when I can, but I will also enjoy the foods these countries have to offer -- just in smaller amounts.

However, since I know I will be eating off plan, I really don't want to splurge during the flights. I mean airplane food really isn't splurge worthy. I used to fly all the time (former flight attendant) but don't fly much anymore. Can I bring things like hard-boiled eggs, bacon, etc. since they aren't liquid. I'm trying to restrict nuts, but any other suggestions that are TSA friendly?

Any other general suggestions for staying on plan as best as possible.

Actually, staying on plan in Italy, Spain, and France is super easy! Plenty of great meat, dairy, fresh fish, and vegetables. There is absolutely no reason to gain on a vacation to those countries- you can also choose to have small amounts of things like bread and pastries and pasta that are local and walk off those carbs with all of the walking and climbing stairs and hills.

Please do not bring hardboiled eggs - they smell up a plane like nothing else (exception being onions, garlic, ethnic foods with lots of strong spices) and make everyone else suffer. I would eat a big meal beforehand and then eat when you touch down. The great thing is that everything is open very late so no matter what time you land you will be able to enjoy a great lc meal at a cafe/restaurant.

I went on a Mediterranean cruise during my weight loss (12 days) as well as a 14-day Baltic cruise a couple of years later, and I had no problem staying on plan both on the ship and in the countries we visited. Even in Italy, there meat, fish, and veggies are outstanding, and there's no reason to eat pasta (I never eat grains). I didn't feel the least deprived.

As to the plane, I brought a small bag of nuts but didn't even eat them. If I'm flying and a meal will be served, I learned long ago to order a special meal. I've never seen a 'low carb' offering, but 'gluten free' usually means that my protein won't be breaded. Even if I can only eat half of what they serve, it's fine because the most important thing when flying is to stay hydrated, and I focus on water.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm glad to hear that staying on plan will not as difficult as I imagined it to be. I'm actually not too concerned about the ship. I know there will be plenty of choices, so I know I will be able to make good ones. Several of our excursions include a meal, so I hope there is a choice with those. I have gotten conflicting answers, so I will find out when the time comes.

Regarding the flight.... we are flying on a discounted employee fare (dh is a pilot), so special meals are not an option for us. He isn't really sure what we can bring because when he flies for work, he is allowed to bring things on as a crew member that we are allowed to bring on as regular passengers.

nolcjunk, I'm curious.... Do you have a sensitivity to certain odors? Like I said, I used to work as a flight attendant (flew almost 20 years before leaving to raise my kids), and we used to serve eggs all the time. Usually they were served as omelets, but on trans-atlantic flights and flights to South America, we often had hard-boiled eggs on board and the odor was never a problem. We even made eggs cooked to order in first class and I made hard-boiled eggs many times. Believe me. I have been on more than my fair share of flights where someone brought on some stinky food, and I wouldn't want to do that. I just never thought of eggs as one of those foods given my experience with them on flights.

Suzanneyea and Ntombi, I, too, prefer to stay on plan and do so easily when we are driving or even on shorter plane trips. This trip is just different circumstances. I feel we won't have as much control over that aspect of the trip as we normally do. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't know.

Some people just eat heartily before heading to the airport and then plan on eating on arrival, BUT, when flying that kind of distance there are always the possibility of delays that can extend your transit time 24 or more hours. So having some emergency carry on food is crucial, if you don't eat it, you still have it for emergencies while traveling.

Nuts and jerky are good, along with high percentage chocolate bars, and protein powder you can mix with water for a quick protein shake. I'm not a big fan of bars like Atkins bars, but this is one situation where they might come in handy. If you can carry small containers of coconut oil, adding that to hot tea or coffee can go a long way.

Because they're produce, I don't know if homemade veggie chips (made in the dehydrator) would be OK, but worth looking into.

nolcjunk, I'm curious.... Do you have a sensitivity to certain odors? Like I said, I used to work as a flight attendant (flew almost 20 years before leaving to raise my kids), and we used to serve eggs all the time. Usually they were served as omelets, but on trans-atlantic flights and flights to South America, we often had hard-boiled eggs on board and the odor was never a problem. We even made eggs cooked to order in first class and I made hard-boiled eggs many times. Believe me. I have been on more than my fair share of flights where someone brought on some stinky food, and I wouldn't want to do that. I just never thought of eggs as one of those foods given my experience with them on flights.

Beachy

No, I don't. Omelets and freshly cooked eggs smell very differently from hard boiled eggs that have been cooked ahead of time and that are at room temp. Haven't you ever been in a room where someone is eating hardboiled eggs and the whole room stinks of sulfur? I think the smell is made worse when someone cooks the egg for too long.

This is someone else's egg experience-

Back in early 2005 I was flying JetBlue direct from Long Beach, CA to Boston, MA which is about a 5 or 6 hour flight. I was seated in the window seat which was fine because I planned to snooze for as much of the flight as I could. Everything was fine until about 20 minutes into the flight I got hit with a rancid stench. At first I thought someone must have had an accident in their pants and then I realized the woman sitting next to me in the middle seat had a zip lock bag with hard boiled eggs in it and she was going to town on them. I couldn’t believe my eyes...

Hmmmm...... interesting. Perhaps catering did something to them to keep them from stinking. I really wouldn't know. I do know that we served them on every transatlantic flight though. Sometimes we even served them on both meals since the flights were long enough for 2 meal services. The odor was never a problem -- not even when they came boiled and peeled ahead of time -- which they did 90% of the time.

Regardless, even though I've never experienced that on the flights I worked and served hard-boiled eggs, I won't bring any on this time just in case.......

Some people just eat heartily before heading to the airport and then plan on eating on arrival, BUT, when flying that kind of distance there are always the possibility of delays that can extend your transit time 24 or more hours. So having some emergency carry on food is crucial, if you don't eat it, you still have it for emergencies while traveling.

Nuts and jerky are good, along with high percentage chocolate bars, and protein powder you can mix with water for a quick protein shake. I'm not a big fan of bars like Atkins bars, but this is one situation where they might come in handy. If you can carry small containers of coconut oil, adding that to hot tea or coffee can go a long way.

Because they're produce, I don't know if homemade veggie chips (made in the dehydrator) would be OK, but worth looking into.

Most of all, have a great time!

Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely look into some veggie chips and some protein powder. I will also find a way to bring a small amount of coconut oil. I know it has to be less than 3 ounces, so I'll have to look for some small containers. I also don't do the Atkins bars, but maybe I will grab a box to use in need be.

I am also leaving for a European vacation very soon. Between traveling to the airport, the hours of waiting, flying, collecting luggage, clearing customs, collecting rental car and driving another 3.5 hours to our first destination, means a very extended period of unknown food choices. Under other circumstances, I would fast but between boredom, the smells of the food being served and the possibility of having to go even longer without food (delays), it seems prudent to bring along foods that suit my needs and travel well.

I have done this before and had great success. I will be packing my home made beef jerky, macadamia nuts, 99% Lindt chocolate and a flax muffin. none need any particular storage other than a container to keep my muffin from getting mushed.

Usually the food tray will have things like butter, cheese, a small salad etc. that can help fill out the menu. Even if it did not, I would be ok.

Europe is fantastic for low carbing - tons of meats and cheeses etc. The only thing that gave me a moment's pause was the croissants in Paris but it just would make me feel ill and not worth it. I have no regrets passing up the carby food choices .... none at all.

I have not been to Italy while on a ketogenic woe and suspect that may present more of a challenge but I would rather go hungry as I am very carb sensitive.

One caveat to all,of this is that i plan on fully enjoying the wines!

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

On cruises, I often stock up on a baggie of bacon in the morning, so I cannot be caught off guard for lunch. They will also make you burgers without any fillers on the cruise. They made me 4 burgers are every meal, really big too.

Just beware of packing beef jerky for your flight unless you're sure you'll eat it all before arrival--or that the country you're entering allows meat products. The last time I flew to London, I had just some nuts with me, and I was glad because we got a warning just before arrival that we could not bring in any meat products.

One other thing that I find really important when flying over long hauls is to stay hydrated. I don't typically pay much attention to my fluid intake but it is so easy to become dehydrated and feel the effects.

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

I just had to add that there are really great little, single serving packets of raw organic coconut butter that work really well too. It is made by Artisana and I can find it in my local independent grocery store and likely be found in health food stores.

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

First off I hope you enjoy your vacation!!! Not sure how long you have been doing this WOE but I have been doing it for almost a year and I leave for vacation in a month. I plan on enjoying my vacation with stressing to much. I know that when I come back I will hop right back on board. I can't speak for everyone though, I know it is not that easy for everyone. This is a WOE and a WOL for me so I have to make it work for me. I hope you enjoy your trip!!!

__________________
You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.
- Bette Davis

Have a great trip! I went on 7-day cruise in March and intended to stay as LC as possible but it was harder than I thought it would be. I got more lax as the cruise went on too. I was up about 8 lbs. when I got back but I lost it all the weight very quickly...it was all water weight, and I was out of ketosis. I essentially lost two weeks from the one week cruise but I am fully back on track now.